The invention relates to an internal combustion engine and more specifically to one incorporating epicyclic sets of cross pistons.
It is a well known fact that a point on a circle rolling around the inside of another circle of twice its diameter, without slippage, will travel forward and backward along a straight line; a diameter of the larger circle.
Piston designers of the past have often been intrigued with this relationship and some have attempted to utilize it in attempts to approve the design of engines as it holds the promise of simplifying the piston/connecting-rod/crankshaft relationship. Engines employing conventional gears to achieve this action have been constructed, but none have been produced in quantity, due apparently to problems involving the gearing.
Some prior art internal combustion engines will be discussed below.
The Llewellyn U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,134 is directed to a small sized gasoline powered engine. The objects of the invention are to provide an engine with a greatly reduced number of working parts, to provide an arrangement of the parts which will simplify and compact the engine so that it is especially suitable for use on power mowers, chain saws and the like and to reduce the torsion imposed upon the crankshaft and the stress placed on other engine parts to a point where lightweight and relatively inexpensive components may be used. The crankshaft is journaled in the pistons rather than in the crankcase as in a conventional engine. This eliminates the use of connecting rods and results in an unusual crankshaft motion from which mechanical advantage is derived.
The Paillier U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,706 is directed to a rotary engine comprising four cylinders in a star cluster. It has a first assembly of two pistons suitable to slide in two of the cylinders connected together head to tail by a first rigid cross piece. It also has a second assembly of two pistons suitable to slide in the other two cylinders and connected together head to tail by a second rigid cross piece. It also has a mechanism with eccentrics suitable to transform the alternating sliding of these two assemblies into rotation of the shaft.
The Wrin U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,252 is directed to a two-cycle engine having a pair of pistons mounted within a pair of cylinders which are arranged in an oppositely facing in-line manner. It has separate connecting rods for each of the pistons that are mounted on a crankshaft that is rotatably mounted with respect to a planetary gear carrier.
The Stiller et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,459 is directed to an engine having two pairs of pistons each pair are connected to each other by a rigid connecting rod. A trammel gear is connected to a first connecting rod through a first pivot pin. The trammel gear is also connected to a second connecting rod through a second pivot pin. By movement of the various pistons in a predetermined sequence, the trammel gear will be caused to rotate and thereby convert the transnational movement of the connecting rods into responsive rotary and translator movement of the trammel gear.
The Puzio U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,416 is directed to an internal combustion engine utilizing a disc-shaped crankshaft operatively connected with respect to at least one pair of opposed pistons. Each piston of each pair is fixedly secured with respect to a shaft extending therebetween. With two pairs of pistons they are arranged at right angles with respect to one another such that each piston fires controlled by a timing device to maintain the rotary crankshaft. The crankshaft can include a gear device or a friction surface device about the external periphery thereof to facilitate distribution of power therefrom. The crankshaft defines an aperture therein within which a crankpin is positioned with an off set connecting arm extending in each opposite direction. The offset connecting arm extends into a bore within which is positioned the rod extending to each pair of pistons. The path of movement of the crankpin is circular to receive driving force of the pistons at selectively timed intervals.
The Bracket U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,256 is directed to a device for translating rotary to linear motion and vice-versa and it includes a reciprocating linearly moving shuttle with a central aperture. The aperture has a pair of opposing gear racks protruding towards the center which capture therebetween a pair of pinion sectors rotatably mounted to the crankpin of a rotatable crankshaft with the axis of the crankshaft rotation perpendicular to the linear path of the shuttle. The pinon sectors are free to rotate about the crankpin and articulate independently of each other through a selected angular range.
The Vaux et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,926 is directed to an internal combustion engine utilizing a dwelling scotch yoke and a journaled flywheel and a unique combination for stalling the translator movement of an oppositively paired pistons during the detonation of the fuel mixture to achieve a clear exhaust and an energy efficient engine.